From: "Cornelia Botha" Subject: World wide gay boycott on Zimbabwe as vacation destination Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1998 18:23:16 +0200 This is an email sent from South Africa to the global gay community with regards gay / lesbian intolerance. The gay community worldwide can make a difference even on continents and in countries far away from them. We on the Southern tip of Africa may be far away from you, but if it were your choice of lifestyle being attacked across the seas, we would do whatever possible to help make a difference. This email regards Zimbabwe, a neighboring country of South Africa. If you've been following the news this year, you would probably be aware of the steps Zimbabwean President Magabe has been trying to take to criminalize homosexuality. Attention was once again drawn to this battle in Zimbabwe in the beginning of December ’98 when Former Zimbabwean President, Canaan Banana, had to flee Zimbabwe after having been found guilty on several counts of "sodomy" (homosexual activity) which is not tolerated, especially by the current president of that country (President Magabe). It is not clear whether Banana forced himself on anyone, in which case he deserves the full extent of the law. However, perhaps the uproar that resulted from this incident should be a wake up call for both the South African gay community and the gay community globally to start doing something about this intolerance. Perhaps the time has come for us to make an effort to spread the word around the globe to our gay family to boycott Zimbabwe as a tourist destination. Gay people around the world generally have more disposable income, due the fact that they don't have families to support and because, generally, they are very ambitious. This empowers the gay community to travel more and spend more money while on their vacations. The Australian tourist board is one example of a country that has a special program and advertising campaigns design especially for the gay market internationally. They have realized the power of the pink dollar. Zimbabwe is in deep trouble economically. Their primary draw card is their potential for tourism, because their currency is very cheap and their native country is very beautiful. I know first hand because I was born there. By contacting as many of your gay friends and contacts, business associates and people of influence, online and offline as possible with this information we could spread the news that Zimbabwe is intolerant, in fact aggressive, toward gay people. And that in order to show a unified stand against that, we should boycott it. On the other hand, let it be known that South Africa has one of the most gay friendly constitutions, although it is not yet perfect, with a vibrant gay community. This leaves open an alternative for the perfect gay friendly African vacation. Post this letter on your websites or publish it in you gay / lesbian magazines. Let’s start caring about the different gay communities represented around the world. We in South Africa don’t HAVE TO do anything about the struggle in Zimbabwe, but we have chosen to do so now. Let’s stand together and start the ball rolling on a worldwide gay boycott against Zimbabwean tourism on the grounds of discrimination against our sexual preference! Kind Regards, Cornelia Botha fullmoon@icon.co.za If you will be posting this information on your website, please drop me an email so that I can keep track of the response. Thank you.